I'm Emily, a Dallas-based wedding photographer and educator! I absolutely love sharing the stories behind recent Dallas wedding photography, my amazing brides and grooms, and some personal and business musings here and there! I hope you enjoy your time on my blog!

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Jackie and Eric: A Winter White Rock Lake Engagement Session

October 19, 2018

For me, there is something absolutely magical about fall and winter! I love everything that is typically associated with the turn of the seasons…the chill in the air, the way the colors change from shades of red to neutral, and the way that the holidays all just kind of flow together. Jackie and Eric’s Winter White Rock Lake engagement session was a perfect example of the romantic time of year that I just adore beyond words.

White Rock Lake is one of those spots that always seems to look beautiful no matter what time of year it is. The light comes in perfectly for that soft golden light that everyone loves – couples and photographers alike! But on this day, the true focal point was Jackie and Eric, whose gentle and playful personalities are designed for one another. Eric was all smiles the whole time and couldn’t keep his eyes off his beautiful bride-to-be. Jackie has the sweetest demeanor with the most incredibly caring spirit. I can further attest to this on a personal level – Jackie actually helped me out one time when I was in a childcare bind!

Exploring White Rock Lake with these two was a dream come true, and had me so excited for their big day at the Grand Ivory! Speaking of which, can you believe these two are tying the knot TOMORROW?! We are expecting beautiful weather in the midst of all this rain we’ve been having, and I cannot wait to celebrate this beautiful couple! Until then, enjoy some of my favorites from their Winter White Rock Lake engagement session, and learn a bit more about them below!

How did you two meet?

“We met senior year of High School. Eric’s friend Matt and I had a class together and had become friends, and he asked me to the homecoming dance. Eric and I met for the first time at a post homecoming party and really hit it off. Eric was able to convince Matt to give him my number, and Matt has been a significant mutual friend to us ever since. When Eric finally texted me he got nervous when I wasn’t responding, little did he know that I was grounded from my phone and wasn’t getting his texts! After a day of texts my mom who had my phone saw the texts. Knowing that I had been crushing on Eric, she told me that he had texted me! After a few weeks of constant texting Eric asked to me to be his girlfriend one Monday night after YoungLife, and the rest is history. After graduation we both attended the University of Arkansas and then later begun our careers in Houston after college graduation.”

How did he propose?

“Originally Eric and I had planned to go on a cruise in September (where he was originally planning on proposing to me (which he told me after the fact) but due to some changes at work we had to cancel the cruise. After we decided that we weren’t going to be able to go on the cruise, Eric came up with the idea that we should just go on a little weekend getaway. So he started planning an entire weekend trip to Fredericksburg, TX for Fourth of July weekend. Fast forward to July 4th weekend we arrive in Fredericksburg Friday night and the only vineyard open during sunset was Pedernalles Cellars. Friday evening at Pedernalles Cellers after a few wine tastings Eric and I made our way to the patio for dinner, where a jazz band was playing. Eric says, ‘At that point the ring was practically burning a hole in my pocket by the time we sat down!’ Haha! Eric quickly excused himself to go to the bathroom and asked the bartender who did our wine tasting earlier to take pictures from afar. When Eric sat back down he popped the questions while I was mid bite, and out of shock I froze. I had NO IDEA that he was going to propose and was just in shock. We laugh about it now, but the nerves from my initial silence after he asked scared him! After I realized what was happening I quickly said yes! During our wine tasting, the bartender had mentioned that Josh Abbot Band was playing at a near by venue. So after dinner we went to see Josh Abbot Band and to cap off a wonderful night Josh Abbot gave us a shout out during his performance! All in all it was a wonderful weekend!”

Tell me about the details you’re most excited about for your upcoming wedding!

“We are most looking forward to our wedding venue! We will be getting married at The Grand Ivory in October of 2018, and we cannot wait get married in their outdoor chapel! It’s is absolutely STUNNING from its white pews to the romantic view that overlooks a lake! The Grand Ivory is out of a fairytale!”

What did you each wear to your session?

“I wore a cute sweater, jeans and booties for our first look and a floor length floral maxi dress for our more formal look! Eric complimented my sweater look with jeans, a flannel and a gray pull over. For the second outfit Eric wore black blazer, gray pants and a blue shirt – that compliment the dress perfectly! We have a color palette in mind for he wedding and used similar colors for our engagement photo outfits.”

What kind of look were you going for?

“We were going for two looks- the first look was a causal everyday kinda look! Cute but very causal we both wore jeans! Since our photos were taken outside I wanted the photos to depict us well- which is pretty easy going and casual! For the second look we got more dressy- and boy am I happy we did! I highly recommend wearing a flowly dress for one of the outfits – they photograph so well and made me feel very girly!”

Do you have any tips or advice for other couples about to have engagement photos taken?

“Don’t over think it! Emily is so great about helping you feel natural and not too awkward. She will position you and give you pose suggestions! She really is wonderful to work with! Motion in between shots helps it look natural so just try and act normal! And just be yourself! Engagement photos are a fun and easy to way to practice for the big day!”

How was your overall session experience?

“Wonderful! We were so thrilled with not only how our session went, but how the pictures turned out. Emily made us feel awesome and confident during our shoot and we would recommend her to anybody who needed pictures!”

Tell me one interesting thing about one another!

Eric: “Jackie’s first language was Spanish and she’s a first generation American, but I have been to Mexico way more than she has!”

Jackie: “Our first date was at the same Mexican restaurant he was about to start working at, and his first celebrity crush was Selena Gomez- so we always kid around and say Eric has a thing for Mexican culture! ;)”